Sheryl Sandberg Urges More People ‘To Condemn Rape as an Act of War’ in Heart-Wrenching Plea

Sheryl Sandberg, the former CEO of Facebook, which later became Meta, published a heartwrenching op-ed and accompanying clip this week in which she urged greater condemnation for rape being “used as an act of war” – in the wake of Hamas’s devasting attack on Israel.

“No matter which marches you attend, which religion you practice or none at all. There is one thing we should all agree on: Rape should never be used as an act of war,” Sandberg begins in the clip, adding:

Rape was part of the attack by Hamas terrorists in Israel. Friends saw their friends raped and then murdered at a music festival. Rescue workers recovered bodies naked and bloody with their legs spread. The silence on this from too many is deafening.

We have come so far in believing survivors of rape and assault in so many situations. How can we ignore how these women spent the very last moments of their lives? No matter what you believe should happen in the Middle East, anyone with a mother, a sister, a daughter must speak out now to condemn rape as an act of war.

Sandberg, who is the founder of the women’s advocacy nonprofit organization LeanIn.Org, also penned an op-ed published by CNN on Monday further detailing her views.

“Conflicting reactions to the recent attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza have led to heated and even violent disagreements in communities, colleges, Congress, and coffee shops. People across the globe are protesting on all sides and shouting in the streets. But for one moment, I urge us to shift our focus from politics to humanity,” Sandberg wrote to open the article.

She went on to urge the public to loudly condemn Hamas’s systemic use of rape during the October 7th attack, which Israel is still continuing to investigate.

“On October 7, Hamas terrorists committed unspeakable atrocities that we must speak about — and speak about loudly,” Sandberg wrote, adding:

Numerous witnesses have testified that sexual violence was widespread on that day, according to reports by Israeli investigators. An eyewitness has recounted the horror of watching a fellow concert-goer being gang-raped, then murdered. Rescue workers have reported recovering lifeless bodies, naked with their legs spread. Yet some are flat-out denying that these atrocities occurred. Even worse, some might actually believe that these women — mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives — ”deserved it.”

We have come so far in believing survivors of rape and assault in so many situations, yet this time, many are ignoring the stories that these bodies tell us about how these women spent the last moments of their lives.

The silence on these war crimes is deafening. It’s time to see beyond historical arguments about the past and political arguments about the future to denounce this now.

In the weeks since the October 7th attack, many across the political spectrum have loudly condemned the sexual violence of Hamas during the attack, but a kind of denialism has also grown among certain groups.

The Yale Daily News edited a column at the end of October on the topic and added an editor’s note saying, “this column has been edited to remove unsubstantiated claims that Hamas raped women and beheaded men.” Additionally, the LA Times still has an editor’s note attached to a column from October 9th, saying, “An earlier version of this column mentioned rape in the attacks, but such reports have not been substantiated.”

Watch the full clip above.